Multimedia Sharing

I found myself at home this Saturday night, as my friends went to see a movie, and I wasn't up for it. I ate my dinner while watching Harry Potter 4. I stopped the movie after twenty minutes though, because the way they portrayed Hermione was just oh-so-annoying (I'm sure I'll expound on this at some later post, so watch for it). I was surfing mindlessly when my flatmate knocked on my door because she could hear Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" blaring from my room, and she wanted to tell me that she liked the song. I like the song a whole lot. It's not my kind of music genre-wise, but I like it. Anyway, she had me try this Chinese concoction called 8 Treasures (it's this sweet snack with red beans and seven other things). It was pretty good. We stood around in the kitchen and chatted for a bit. That was fun. We don't talk often, but I genuinely like her because she makes me laugh. After that, I went back to my room and started watching music videos in YouTube. I started off with Bamboo's "Hallelujah," went on to Rivermaya's "Elesi," and ended with the Eraserheads' "Alapaap."

Those were the songs of a few days ago. Right now, my two songs of the moment are Coheed and Cambria's "A Favor House Atlantic" and "Devil in Jersey City." Get the mp3s here. Oh, and do me a favor - listen to the songs and tell me if the lead singer sounds like he looks like this:



Because that's him. I kid you not. See him singing one of their newer songs somewhere in this website. Unbelievable, right? When my friend told me that the lead was a guy, I thought she was telling me that pigs could fly. That was funny. I think my voice is even lower than this guy's! But I like this band. Their music's addictive.

And now to my most important find:



It's a video of the Ateneo campus! (To the Tunay at Totoong Etch-ers: Bahay natin, oh. Haha.) This was the last thing I expected to see on the web. It's a pretty new video too, because it has the new Student Center thing they built in between SEC and SOM. I don't like the "soundtrack." I think that the "Song for Mary" is the type of song that is best sung in Ateneo-La Salle basketball games (I super miss those!) or graduation or things like that. The acoustic version that this guy made doesn't do it for me. But it's not bad, I guess. What a find, yeah? This made me really happy.

And that's it. I just wanted to share.

Break from the Roller Coaster

Had to step out of the Roller Coaster because my mind is spinning round and round. My head is throbbing so hard that the earth seems to shake with its every pulsing beat. It's not a nice feeling at all, but I know that it'll pass. I'll just take a few deep breaths of air, and then I'll get back on the ride. I chose to get on it, so I'll be staying on it until it stops for good. That much I know. That much I'll do. Okay, the ride is starting again. Yahoo.

Mahiwagang Elesi

Hindi ako makapag-isip, hindi ako makapagsulat. Nakakainis. Marami akong kailangang gawin (palapit na ang finals namin, shiyet), pero hindi ko naman maumpisahan ang trabaho dahil wala ako sa mood. Susmaryosep. Naisip ko tuloy na magsulat sa Filipino. Oo, kaya ko 'tong gawin, at kaya ko siyang gawin ng maayos. Linggo ng Wika kunwari. At ako raw si Balagtas.

* * *
Hindi, loko lang. Hindi ko kayang magbalagtasan. Baka multohin pa ako rito ni Ginoong Francisco. Maabala ko pa yung kapitbahay kong pari na si John. May kukuwento nalang ako. Noong isang linggo (hindi ko na maalala kung kailan), nakausap ko si Marianne, kaibigan ko noong high school. Nasa Chicago siya ngayon - malapit-lapit na rin dito siguro, hindi tulad ng mga iba kong kaibigan na nandoon ba naman sa kabilang dulo ng mundo, sa California. Nagkuwentuhan kami, nagtawanan. At siyempre, napunta sa boys ang usapan.

Tanong niya sa akin, "So ilan na ba ang mga boys mo dyan?"

Sagot ko: "Ah... wala." At sinabi ko sa kanya na nagpapakamanang ako rito at na si Maria Clara kaya ang kausap niya. Sabi niya sa akin, hay nako, hindi na uso yan ha.

"Manang Maria Clara, live it up! Sige na."

Hmmm, masubukan nga.

* * *
Ubo ako ng ubo noong isang gabi. Exag. Akala siguro ng mga kapitbahay ko na susuka ako ng kalabaw. Hindi lang isa pero tatlo. Ganoon kalala. Pero okay na ako ngayon. Sinisipon pa rin, konti, pero okay na, pagaling na ang bata. Buti naman. Ayoko nang maging Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, at nakalipas na ang pasko.

* * *
Sumisigaw na ang sawa at galit. Gusto kong sumama sa Alapaap. Mahiwagang Elesi, tara na!

Bugging and Ants

I'm in the library right now, in my usual carrel, and I feel so restless than I can scream like a banshee and make everyone here run for their lives out of this haunted house and into Sol's dwelling, where the leaves wave, the squirrels hop, and the grass glistens and winks. I can, but I won't - I'd like to think I'm not entirely uncivilized. Oh, society! What hast thou done to the unbridled soul that was me?

* * *
I've been bugging Cortaid for the past how many minutes now, interrupting her from her work to have her look at the hot-hot-hot model pictures in Cokelover's blog or at the nature pictures in others. She's been patient and accomodating, so I have to give her a whole lot of credit for that. Not everyone can stand the brat that I can be.

And what is it with the "soul that was me" or "the brat that I can be" phrases? So verbose and unnecessary, honestly. Anyway, yesterday during lunchtime, I attended a talk about the importance of the Arts. One of the things talked about was this sociological trend towards expanding the 'self at leisure.' What I understood was that the 'self at leisure' referred to what was left after stripping away the work and other responsibilities of the person. Interesting concept, yeah? I think so. Except that I don't agree with it (assuming, of course, that the concept is as simple as it was explained). The person is not a compartmentalized bureau. It's a totality. And if you try to isolate one part, then you transform the person into something that it is not.

* * *
Earlier today, I was major stressing out about class registration for this coming fall. So many choices to make (that are themselves based on choices that I don't want to make) and so many permutations, only a few of them within my control. This is funny. In Ateneo, I was never this stressed about reg. I'd pick my classes and that was that. Literally - that was that. My college life was peppered with little trips around the world, from as near as Singapore to as far as South Africa, so out of the eight semesters that I was a Katipunan girl, I think I only personally registered for two. (Thanks once again to my awesome proxies.) Sigh. It's different now. Santa Strawberry and Kiwi Snapple and Dasani water.

* * *
My apartment's being invaded by big black ants. I know they're supposed to be lucky, so I've tried not to kill too many of them. But really, I can't help it if they do stupid things and die. Like one time, I was at the sink, washing my dishes, when this ant races to a water-filled bowl and dives in. I watch the ant. It stays on the surface and swims a bit, waving its stringy digits (what do you call ant arms?) rather frantically, occassionally bending into itself. I say to myself, I didn't know ants were like dogs - natural-born swimmers and flashy ones too. And then the ant stops moving, and I realize that I sort of killed it by not fishing it out with a spoon.

* * *
Some years ago, I forget when, I was at the kitchen sink at our house, wasting water and melting soap, all because I was bored. I saw a baby lizard crawl across the sink. Lizards don't scare me like cockroaches do, but I still didn't like it that the baby lizard was so near me. I turned the faucet on, full-blast, and then used my cupped hands to splash the lizard with water. The lizard tried to get away, but I wouldn't stop my splashing. And then it stopped moving and then sort of sidled down the drain. My playmate had gone.

I told my yaya about it, and she was horrified. Lizards are the souls of people who have died but who can't move on, she said. I believed her and prayed that I'd be forgiven for my sin.

Saving the World

It's a few minutes after midnight and the "Out Tonight" song of Rent's Mimi is blaring in my head. A few seconds ago, it was blasting on my laptop, but I stopped it midway and switched to a compilation called Sweet Soul (if it's still out in the record stores, I recommend that you guys get it). I have to sleep soon, so I'm getting myself to calm down. Besides, I was out last night, and the night before that, and the night before that. That should be enough to sustain me until Thursday rolls along. And then I can have fun again.

* * *
I didn't go to mass today. In fact, I haven't been to mass for three Sundays now. It's not mere laziness. More accurately, it's not laziness at all. It's me preventing myself from being disrespectful. Before my non-mass Sundays, I'd go to mass and then be too weak to prevent my mind from wandering off to the most inappropriate places. And I didn't like that. I know what the celebration of the Eucharist is - 13 years of Christian Living Education classes at Assumption College and 12 units of Theology at the Ateneo have taught me that much. If I can't treat the mystery of the anamnesis with the reverence it deserves, then I figure that I shouldn't be there.

My future spiritual advisor will have to help me fix this. I don't like it at all.

* * *
I saw "Darwin's Nightmare" last Friday. Wow, wow, wow. I find it amazing how Hubert Sauper used real-life events and scenes to tell the story. That's what a documentary's supposed to do, I know, but Yulie Gerstel didn't do that in her two films, "My Land Zion" and "My Terrorist," which I also saw here. In this film, my skepticism about the guy behind the camera was totally suspended for the duration of the film. When the film ended, it came crawling back, but I think that's just because it was me.

Here are some scenes from the film:










The film made me ask myself a lot of questions about myself, my country, and my life. It made me feel extremely stupid, that's what. I want to save the world, but I don't know how to. And I'd like to think that I know something about life because I'm pursuing a doctorate here, but that film made me realize that I don't know a thing. It's just like the whole debate experience, when I didn't know jack about world events, and when my partner/s would have to fill me in so I could argue. It was perfectly fine then, because I could still build decent and ocassionally kick-ass cases using reason. But this is real life now, and I'm beginning to realize that ignorance isn't funny anymore.

I can't save a world I don't know. The quest for knowledge begins.

* * *
I was planning on writing about some of the issues raised by the film, but Sweet Soul is doing its job, and I'm so sleepy and tired right now. Sigh. I lack the discipline to be a serious writer. In time, I'll crack that cookie. But right now, it's time to sleep. I'm saying good night and going. And if you got the Imogen Heap reference, you're cool.

On Salome, Joan and Me

I just got back from the laundry place, and I'm too lazy to put my clothes away. Oh well - the clothes shall wait while I entertain myself here. The clock in my computer says that it's 11 PM, while my watch says that it's 10 PM. Dratted time changes. I don't know why I'm complaining, actually; the time difference between here and home is 13 hours, so a mere hour difference shouldn't matter. And it doesn't matter. I just felt like complaining.

* * *
Last Thursday, I went to see Salome, a play written by Oscar Wilde and directed by Professor Anton Juan. Yes, the Anton Juan. For those of you who don't know, he's this hotshot Filipino director who's now teaching theater here at ND. My description doesn't do him justice at all. My readers should forgive me - it's been a long day, and I'm not in the mood to be particularly descriptive. This excerpt from the Program should say something about the play, though:

Director's Notes: Forbidden Desire
Anton Juan

"Oscar Wilde goes to the edge. He describes Salome, whose kiss is rejected by the saint (John the Baptist), as 'not just a dancing girl but the symbolic animation of undying lust, the goddess of immortal Hysteria, the accursed beauty exalted above all other beauties by the catalepsy that hardens her flesh annd steels her muscles, the Monstrous Beast, indifferent, irresponsible, insensible - poisoning like Helen of ancient myth, everything she touches.' ...

I have employed the use of certain Kyogen principles that would constitute the delight in evil and the hierarchy of power, as in the case of Cesar, Herod, the nobles, and soldiers. I have also anchored Salome's dance to the indigenous Filipino Pangalay dance, based on half-bird, half-women - figures that are monomythical throughout the world, from harpies, to angels, to saviours of human beings, but also to seductive birds of prey."

There you guys go. And here are some pictures that I found on the web:


Credit to This Website


Credit to The South Bend Tribune
Now that I think about it, Professor Anton reminds me of Professor Danton Remoto of the Ateneo de Manila University. I was privileged to have taken Professor Remoto's classes in both short-story writing and poetry when I was in my last year at Ateneo. I learned a lot from those two classes. Oh, and I took Professor Krip Yuson's short-story writing class too. Those were fun times - I felt so vulnerable and unsure of myself in those classes, but signing up for them and giving my all in them were among the best things I've done in life. I wonder if I can take Creative Writing classes here.

Last thing I'll say about the play - Ms. Olga Natividad played the role of Salome. She's a resident actor of Tanghalang Pilipino who taught at the Theater Arts Program of Ateneo. More importantly, she was the voice of Hua Ze Lei's girlfriend in Meteor Garden I and II (the Filipino version). Sing it with me - it's a small word after all...

* * *
Since I'm on a roll, talking about Pinoy Pride and all, this next section is a great, big congratulations to my friend, former Ateneo Debate Society debater Joan de Venecia, who topped the Philippine Bar Exam! This is the most comprehensive article I could find. Yeah, I'm an Inquirer kid. To Joan, if you're reading this - sorry, friend! I know your picture is rather unflattering here. So here's another article with a nicer picture of you. Er, but this contains the Mr. Perfect hirit that got Len laughing so hard that people though she was retarded. So I guess that does it for the links.

I would just like to bask in the limelight and claim that I knew that she was going to top the bar, no doubt about it. In fact, last year, when I thought I'd be taking law back home and was then having a heck of a time deciding between UP and Ateneo, the only two schools I'd applied to, I remember Cokelover (whose dad is a UP lawyer who also topped the bar) sending me a text message saying that UP had topped the bar exam. And then I excitedly texted him back to ask if it was Joan. And he said it wasn't. I felt that was odd, but I let it pass. And then I looked through the exam results in the newspaper, and her name wasn't even in there. I was like, the results can't be right. And the next time I spoke to her, I figured out that she had yet to take the bar exam. That was funny.

Since my first bar-topping prediction came true, I'm going to make two more predictions: for Batch 2008, April Morales, fellow goddess and second-year law student of Ateneo Law, will top the bar. And for Batch 2009, it's going to be Jess Lopez, former Ateneo Debate Society debater who is also in Ateneo Law. And Jess, I'm not saying this just because it was your birthday two days ago.

* * *
Let's talk about me again. This morning, I got out of bed at 10:20 AM for an 11 AM class. I didn't have time to dry my hair, so I didn't bother. I stepped out of my apartment and found that it was raining. I hate the rain. In a previous post, I said I hated snow, but I think I hate rain more than I do snow. Anyway, I had to walk for 15 minutes through the rain just to get to the law building! I'm not talking about a nice, pleasant drizzle. I'm talking about a heavy shower with merciless wind that turned my sister's pink Esprit umbrella inside-out and had me looking (and feeling) like a drowned rat by the time I entered the building. Before entering my classroom and facing more than a hundred of my classmates, I tried running my hand through my hair, but I couldn't move my fingers more than an inch. So I tossed my head, stepped in, and tried to pretend that I was invisible. That was an experience. I probably should get up earlier tomorrow. Ah, if only I could resist sleep.

It's funny that I'm getting the full brunt of the rain experience here at ND, when Manila is a land of rain for half the year. But then again, the Manila I'm from is different from the Manila that most know. I don't have the time to expound on that now so I'll leave that for another day.

* * *
I'm getting sleepy already, so I'm ending this post. Before I do, though, I'd like to explain The Gunner theme. (And this section is dedicated to Jac.) Over here, gunners are people who are addicted to hearing themselves speak up in class, so that they recite more often than is either necessary or tolerable. I can't think of a Filipino translation right now, but I know that you guys know what I mean. So I'm the Gunner because when I blog, I just shoot my fingers off without either thinking or caring about whatever. That's the explanation.

Really sleepy now. Abangan ang susunod na kabanata. (Translation: Wait for the next chapter.)